A Simple Guide to Duck Raising

[Pages:21]A Simple Guide to Duck Raising

Partners in Sustainable Community Development

The Ministry of Food Production, Land and Marine Affairs

Table of Contents

1 Preface

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2 Introduction to Duck rearing

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3 Types of Ducks

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4 Advantages of Duck Farming

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5 How many ducks should you raise?

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6 Choosing a place to raise ducks

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7 How to choose good ducks

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8 How to handle your ducks

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9 How to keep ducks safe and well

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10 After you get your ducks

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11 Nests

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12 Raising Baby Ducks

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13 Water

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14 Feeding

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15 Duck Health

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Preface

This manual is designed as a resource guide to the participants of the Turtle Village Trust Agricultural Training Programmes. It is intended to give an intermediate approach to guide the reader/farmer in the basics of duck rearing with the intention of establishing a sustainable enterprise.

Turtle Village Trust would like to acknowledge our partners in sustainable community development BHP Billiton, JB Fernandes Memorial Trust and Atlantic LNG without whom this valuable resource would not be possible. Turtle Village Trust would also like to thank the Ministry of Food Production for their support in this project and all others who contributed in making this endeavor possible.

Dr. Allan Bachan

The Ministry of Food Production, Land and Marine Affairs

Partners in Sustainable Community Development

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2. Introduction to duck raising

Duck raising in Trinidad and Tobago, like raising chickens for meat, can be a full-time specialized business requiring efficiency. The growing commercial market for duck meat is linked with the increasing population. Duck meat generally commands a good price, well above the prices received for chicken. The meat is marketed as fresh, frozen and chilled products, either whole or in parts.

There are problems associated with keeping ducks for egg production on a large scale because of low egg numbers, high feed consumption and the need to house ducks in small numbers. The main egg-laying breeds of ducks can lay more and larger eggs than can hens, but ducks eat about 75% more feed.

For these reasons, most farmers concentrate on meat production. Ducks rearing is being promoted to small community farmers as a means of sustainable livelihood development. There are also a few smaller family farms that have ducks grown for them on contract farms, as well as operators who are involved in all aspects of production, plucking and including direct sales.

Basic Duck Care Ducks are raised under a wide variety of conditions, ranging from a backyard coop for a few ducks to housing for large flocks on a commercial duck farm. Regardless of the category of duck keeping, there are certain basic requirements that must be met if ducks are to remain healthy. This booklet is intended to educate duck farmer with regard to meeting these basic requirements.

Ducks adapt well to a wide range of systems of care provided they receive essential basic care. Except for the early brooding stage, when ducklings require a higher temperature and special attention by the farmer, the basic requirements of ducks are outlined in this guide

Duck Care Standards

The environment that ducks are kept in must be designed to promote duck well-being and protect ducks from discomfort and distress.

Ducks are known to be strong birds. They are not affected easily by some bird diseases not like turkeys and chickens. However, you still need to practice proper care.

Choosing what breed you want to keep is important. There are duck breeds that are more suited for particular purposes like providing meat or giving eggs. Hope this simple duck farming guide gave a head start in your new venture.

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3. Types of Ducks

2.8 kg). Market Age 12weeks.

The Muscovy duck belongs to the genus Cairina and originated in South America. It is a good multipurpose breed and has good flavour meat. It is a medium egg producer. The young are hardy and easy to rear. It is a good grazer and thus ideal for back-yard operations. The male Muscovy can become very large (4.5 to 5.5 kg) while the female is smaller (2.3 to

Muscovy differs from other breeds in the following ways:

? It goes broody and will sit on and hatch eggs of other breeds as well as its own. ? It flies, and perches on roosts and trees. ? If already mated with members of its own breed, it will not mate with members of other breeds. ? Where cross-matings are successful, the crossbred progeny are infertile and are known as `mules'. ? The drake, unlike in other breeds, has no curl feathers in his tail. ? Both male and female Muscovies `hiss' rather than `quack'. ? Muscovies are poor egg producers, and lay their eggs in clutches; that is, they may lay 20 or so

eggs and go broody or pause before producing again. ? Its eggs take 35 days to hatch, whereas eggs of other breeds take only 28 days. ? Its meat has a lower fat content than that of other ducks.

The Pekin duck is ideal for commercial production due to its good egg producing capabilities and hatchability. It adapts well to confinement and is a good egg producer. The pekin duck has a good meat yield and flavour. Market Age 7weeks.

The Mule is the result of a cross between the Muscovy male and the Pekin female. It is faster growing than the Muscovy and produces a good lean meat yield with succulent flavour. This breed is however sterile. Market Age 8 weeks.

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4. Advantages of Duck Farming

Duck farming has following advantages:1. Ducks lay more egg per bird per year than chicken. 2. The size of the duck egg is larger than hen egg by about 15 to 20 g. 3. Ducks require lesser attention and thrive

well in scavenging conditions. With very little time and work you can raise a small flock of ducks. 4. Ducks supplements their feed by foraging. They eat grass, insects, snails, earthworms, small fishes and other aquatic materials. 5. From commercial point of view, ducks have a longer profitable life. They lay well even in second year. 6. Ducks do not require any elaborate houses like chicken 7. Ducks are quite hardy, more easily brooded and more resistant to common avian diseases. 8. Marshy river side, wet land and water logged areas upon which chicken or no other type of

stock will flourish, are excellent quarters for duck farming. 9. Ducks lay 95 ? 98% of their eggs in the morning before 9.00 AM thus saving lot of time

and labour. 10. Ducks are suitable for integrated farming systems such as duck-cum-fish farming. In

duck-cum-fish farming the droppings of ducks serve as feed for the fishes and no other feed or manuring of the pond is necessary for fishes (200-300 ducks per hectare of waste area). Under integrated duck farming with rice cultivation, the ducks perform four essential functions viz., intertillage as they search for food, their bills loosen up the soil around the rice plants-weeding, insect control and manuring. 11. Ducks are good exterminators of potato beetles, grasshoppers, snails and slugs. In areas plagued liver flukes, ducks can help correct the problem (2 to 6 ducks per 0.405 hectare of land). Ducks can be used to free the bodies of water from mosquito pupae and larvae (6 to 10 ducks per 0.405 hectare of water surface) 12. Ducks are quite intelligent, can be tamed easily, and trained to go to ponds and come back in the evening of their own.

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5. How many ducks should you raise?

If you are going to raise ducks that live by themselves and find their own food, with very little help from you, you can raise up to 24 ducks.

However, until you know more about ducks and how to take care of them, it is best to start with a small flock. Start with a flock of 6 ducks, 5 female ducks, and 1 male duck. With a flock of 6 ducks you will get 5 to 10 eggs each week. In addition, with a male in your flock the eggs you get will be fertile. This means that you can raise your own baby ducks. After you have raised a small flock, you may find that you could use more eggs and more meat. Later you can use some of your eggs to raise baby ducks to make your flock bigger.

If you are starting with ducklings then you should purchase at least 20 ducklings. This is due to the higher mortality of ducklings.

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6. Choosing a place to raise ducks

The first thing that you must do is to choose a place on your land that is good to raise ducks.

It is best to keep your ducks where you can watch them easily. So, the place that you choose should be as close as possible to where you live. Look for a place that has shade for your ducks on hot days. There should also be a place for them to go for protection from wind or on days when it is cold or wet.

If possible look for a place on your land that has enough of the kinds of food that ducks like to eat. A good place is one near to water where your ducks can easily get to water and where they can swim. Raising a flock of ducks is only one use for your land, so be careful not to choose a place for them that could be better used for something else, such as planting crops or growing a vegetable garden. Remember, that ducks can live just about anywhere outside as long as they can find enough to eat and drink.

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